A couple in Hong Kong is suing a Boston-area education consultant for the $2 million they say they paid him to get their two sons into top prep schools and, ultimately, an Ivy League university. The suit is seen by some as an example of an "arms race" in education.

Gerald and Lily Chow, citizens of Hong Kong, say they hired Mark Zimny and his company, IvyAdmit Consulting Associates in Cambridge, Mass. to help their two sons get into elite schools in the U.S.

I've had some extremely rich clients. Sometimes they do think that they can buy their way into any school. Usually they are Asian or Middle Eastern. I once had a student's parents ask me if a $20 million donation would be enough or if they should go higher. I've had several others in the $1-5 million range.

I also had a student who told me that she met a guy who knew a guy who worked in admissions at the school she wanted to go to. If she gave this guy $50,000, he would guarantee admission to this school. If not, she didn't have to pay. She was convinced this was the way to go, so I spent a long time trying to explain to her why this was a scam.

Doesn't Harvard pretty much either let you in or not let you in? An individual applying to Harvard has to meet certain standards and if they don't then they have to come back with those standards met. This sounds to me like a rich corrupt asian family trying to get thier child in the corrupt way. I have had lots of experience with this stuff working at private Thai schools. Pretty pathetic. Let's hope they lose the lawsuit and understand that the West doesn't do things like they do in the East.

Doesn't Harvard pretty much either let you in or not let you in? An individual applying to Harvard has to meet certain standards and if they don't then they have to come back with those standards met. This sounds to me like a rich corrupt asian family trying to get thier child in the corrupt way. I have had lots of experience with this stuff working at private Thai schools. Pretty pathetic. Let's hope they lose the lawsuit and understand that the West doesn't do things like they do in the East.

Doesn't Harvard pretty much either let you in or not let you in? An individual applying to Harvard has to meet certain standards and if they don't then they have to come back with those standards met. This sounds to me like a rich corrupt asian family trying to get thier child in the corrupt way. I have had lots of experience with this stuff working at private Thai schools. Pretty pathetic. Let's hope they lose the lawsuit and understand that the West doesn't do things like they do in the East.

Harvard College (the undergrad college) admits either poor students (who are minorities and mostly not from the US) or wealthy students (whose parents pay for their admission). Whether or not the poor or wealthy students that are admitted deserve to study there is an important question; there are certain minority quotas the college needs to fill to stay at the top of the list of international universities.

The Harvard graduate schools are a different story. The admitted students are comprised of adults who win scholarships and/or deserve to study in a very specified area. There are, of course, wealthy students who buy themselves into the graduate schools; the law and business schools are examples.

Harvard is not what it used to be, but the brand still holds significance. During theses/dissertations, students are "strongly advised" to write about a certain subject that will benefit their project director or committee members. Declining to do so will result in a lower grade or a lot of b*llsh*t to deal with. You study under amazing minds, but can never talk to them because they are at symposiums/working in absentia/have TF's (teaching fellows) leading their classes.

A prospective MBA student came to me for help with her MBA interview. Gave me the approved list of questions that came directly from someone on the inside at a very prestigious American university. I emailed a contact inside the admissions dept. a copy of what the Korean student had. Next thing you know, I had seven different emails from different levels of admin folk at this school thanking me for exposing the culprit. Turned out to be a Korean who was highly educated and worked in admissions at this school. Fired on the spot.

A prospective MBA student came to me for help with her MBA interview. Gave me the approved list of questions that came directly from someone on the inside at a very prestigious American university. I emailed a contact inside the admissions dept. a copy of what the Korean student had. Next thing you know, I had seven different emails from different levels of admin folk at this school thanking me for exposing the culprit. Turned out to be a Korean who was highly educated and worked in admissions at this school. Fired on the spot.

So you feel good about being a snitch and getting someone fired. Congrats douchebag.

A prospective MBA student came to me for help with her MBA interview. Gave me the approved list of questions that came directly from someone on the inside at a very prestigious American university. I emailed a contact inside the admissions dept. a copy of what the Korean student had. Next thing you know, I had seven different emails from different levels of admin folk at this school thanking me for exposing the culprit. Turned out to be a Korean who was highly educated and worked in admissions at this school. Fired on the spot.

So you feel good about being a snitch and getting someone fired. Congrats douchebag.

A prospective MBA student came to me for help with her MBA interview. Gave me the approved list of questions that came directly from someone on the inside at a very prestigious American university. I emailed a contact inside the admissions dept. a copy of what the Korean student had. Next thing you know, I had seven different emails from different levels of admin folk at this school thanking me for exposing the culprit. Turned out to be a Korean who was highly educated and worked in admissions at this school. Fired on the spot.

So you feel good about being a snitch and getting someone fired. Congrats douchebag.

That was your mom wasn't it?

Typical lame response from a lame poster.

Again, do you actually feel proud of yourself for being a tattle-tail? God I hated kids like you in school.

A prospective MBA student came to me for help with her MBA interview. Gave me the approved list of questions that came directly from someone on the inside at a very prestigious American university. I emailed a contact inside the admissions dept. a copy of what the Korean student had. Next thing you know, I had seven different emails from different levels of admin folk at this school thanking me for exposing the culprit. Turned out to be a Korean who was highly educated and worked in admissions at this school. Fired on the spot.

So you feel good about being a snitch and getting someone fired. Congrats douchebag.

That was your mom wasn't it?

Typical lame response from a lame poster.

Again, do you actually feel proud of yourself for being a tattle-tail? God I hated kids like you in school.

If i were a fellow applicant, I'd be pissed knowing someone got a leg up on me because of connection s/he had in the admissions department. If I were a student already in the program, I'd be upset that some students got in due to connections and not qualifications. Why? They undermine the value and reputation of that degree.

MollyBloom wrote:

Harvard College (the undergrad college) admits either poor students (who are minorities and mostly not from the US) or wealthy students (whose parents pay for their admission). Whether or not the poor or wealthy students that are admitted deserve to study there is an important question; there are certain minority quotas the college needs to fill to stay at the top of the list of international universities.

What the hell are you talking about? Sorry, but you sound like you're talking out of your ass, especially the part in bold. Harvard admissions doesn't pay attention to an applicant's family's income. It will pay attention to:

1. If there is a family legacy
2. If the family has donated to that university
3. The family (or student) will provide a "boost" to the university in one way or another (perhaps not financial, but reputation or image)

Yes, #2 and 3 are connected to income, but admissions does not look at an application and go, "Well the family makes $1 million/year, the applicant has decent grades and SAT scores, blah blah blah, let him in!"

And Harvard generally just admits poor international students (of those admitted students that are indeed poor)? Where you come up with that theory? I'm intrigued.